Cruise with 4 Ports Including Costa Maya - Which Ones Are Worth Doing Excursions In?

[sailingawaywithyou]

Hi all,

I am doing an NCL cruise this Fall to the following 4 Western Caribbean Ports, including Costa Maya. I can't do an excursion at all of them. Help! Which ones have a safe beach nearby the ship vs. which ones would you do an excursion in? Any information on your own experience is greatly appreciated :)

Roatan, BayIslands, Honduras

Harvest Caye, Belize

Costa Maya, Mexico

Cozumel, Mexico

 

 

Thanks!

[crewsweeper]

Roatan...do a private vendor excursion/island tour with beach time along West Bay. Port is Coxen Hole and no near by beach. See posts on Roatan board for Victor Bodden, rony'stours, or Daniel Johnson's tour.

 

Harvest Caye... unless there's a ship excursion you want to go to on the mainland, if these have started yet, everything is on Harvest Caye. See reviews though on Belize board.

 

Costa Maya...either a mayan ruins tour with Native Choice, or just take a taxi or tram to the Mahahual amalecon...walk along the beach and find a lounger. Best spots are at Blue Kay, Tropicante, Pitaya, and Pez Quadro. Be careful of the folks attempting to get you to their beach, service can be spotty and food not as good.

 

Cozumel.....taxi to a beach. for snorkeling Money Bar/Sky Reef/Cornona Beach. For place with water toys and pool Paradise Beach/Mr. Sanchos.

[sailingawaywithyou]

Sounds great thank you!

[mitsugirly]

Costa Maya is one of those ports you can have a cheap day if you don't do an excursion. If you like just relaxing or the beach, the malecon is about 8 minutes away and $3 taxi ride. Check out my review of Blue Kay (in my signature line). There's tons of pictures for you to see what it's like there. Just a laid back relaxing day there for a cheap price. :)

[bakingem]

We loved the excursions we went on at Costa Maya and Roatan, but none of us loved our day in Cozumel, so based on our experience that day, I would just hang out on the ship in Cozumel or just go to one of the beach clubs near the port.

 

Depending on who you're traveling with or what you like to do, the water park/zip-line thing at Costa Maya followed by an afternoon at the beach was a huge hit with everyone in our group. The beach we went to was about 45 minutes away, I think, but it was fantastic. Wish I knew the name of it. In Roatan, we went across the island to WBB for snorkeling (right off the beach) and hanging out.

[c-leg5]

We loved the excursions we went on at Costa Maya and Roatan, but none of us loved our day in Cozumel, so based on our experience that day, I would just hang out on the ship in Cozumel or just go to one of the beach clubs near the port.

 

Depending on who you're traveling with or what you like to do, the water park/zip-line thing at Costa Maya followed by an afternoon at the beach was a huge hit with everyone in our group. The beach we went to was about 45 minutes away, I think, but it was fantastic. Wish I knew the name of it. In Roatan, we went across the island to WBB for snorkeling (right off the beach) and hanging out.

 

It's a pity you didn't state what you did in Cozumel, and what you didn't like about it, because of the three ports you mention Cozumel certainly has the most options and can provide both expensive and inexpensive activities for the day.

 

Glad to hear you enjoyed your day in Costa Maya although since the OP is trying to budget their excursions it would be fair to warn them that the waterpark is a very expensive option. Not sure which beach you went either since the malecon is only about 5-10 mins away, or did you do a waterpark/beach combination through the ship and go to Uvero beach? I wouldn't say Costa Maya is renouned for "fantastic beaches" so it would be interesting to know where you went.

[bakingem]

It's a pity you didn't state what you did in Cozumel, and what you didn't like about it, because of the three ports you mention Cozumel certainly has the most options and can provide both expensive and inexpensive activities for the day.

 

Glad to hear you enjoyed your day in Costa Maya although since the OP is trying to budget their excursions it would be fair to warn them that the waterpark is a very expensive option. Not sure which beach you went either since the malecon is only about 5-10 mins away, or did you do a waterpark/beach combination through the ship and go to Uvero beach? I wouldn't say Costa Maya is renouned for "fantastic beaches" so it would be interesting to know where you went.

 

We did do a waterpark/beach combo through RCI. I believe it was $89, which was indeed the most we paid for any excursion, but it was also everyone in our groups favorite day. No idea what it costs through any other cruise lines or individually. For that price we got all access to the waterpark (zip lines and slides) and alcohol was included at the beach we went to after the park. It was someone's birthday in the group, so we definitely took advantage of the all-inclusive alcohol, so maybe that colors my memories of the day. :D We all thought the waterpark was something different and could have stayed there all day, but the beach we went to was also great, food was good, and they put plenty of alcohol in the mixed drinks. I'm not saying the beach was the same as Vieques or even Roatan, but the water was clear, we spent a lot of time lounging around, diving off a platform out in the water, etc. Maybe we just had low expectations, but it was an awesome excursion all in all.

 

Roatan was also amazing, but there are already lots of rave reviews about some of the snorkeling and beaches there, so I didn't say as much about it. It was great snorkeling though, especially when you can go right up to the drop off. A little spooky, but really cool. I would never be able to tell anyone to skip that if they have any interest.

 

As for Cozumel, to be fair, it was our third port day in a row and we were all probably a little tired by then in general. We did a dune buggy excursion, and it just wasn't much fun. We all drove in a line forever down the highway around the island. We stopped for about 30 minutes to snorkel, but at least where we were and after having snorkeled at Roatan the day before, it was mostly just sea grass and a couple fish here and there. Back in the buggies to drive a little more and then they stopped at a place where we had to stay for almost two hours even though there wasn't anything to do other than order the food/drinks at one place. Then we drove back to town. It just was anticlimatic as we had all been looking forward to it. Back in town, we were right by the port and wandered through the shops there a little bit. Everything was "fine," it just didn't seem as great as the other two days. Again to be fair, I had high expectations for Cozumel, so maybe I set myself up for disappointment. I'm sure there are plenty of things to do in Cozumel that are amazing, but our experience just wasn't that impressive.

 

Wherever OP decides to skip, a day on the ship, a day hanging out at a nearby beach, or a day with a full blown excursion . . . They're all better than a day at work!

[bUU]

We did do a waterpark/beach combo through RCI.

Thanks. Those details are so valuable. We're planning on visiting ancient ruins at three ports and an animal sanctuary at a fourth port, so inadequate water and beach excursions wouldn't worry us.

[JillL]

Hi all,

I am doing an NCL cruise this Fall to the following 4 Western Caribbean Ports, including Costa Maya. I can't do an excursion at all of them. Help! Which ones have a safe beach nearby the ship vs. which ones would you do an excursion in? Any information on your own experience is greatly appreciated :)

Roatan, BayIslands, Honduras

Harvest Caye, Belize

Costa Maya, Mexico

Cozumel, Mexico

 

 

We will be doing our third cruise in December with this itinerary, and we love all ports. We almost never book through the cruise line, preferring to use ShoreExcursioneer or Island Marketing.

 

I agree with Mitsugirly for Costa Maya. We are going to Blue Kay for our next cruise. But we have also done Maya Chan (highly recommended by many on CC) and Almaplena. We thought both were excellent all inclusive options and reasonably priced.

 

Belize - Excursion is the way to go.

 

Cozumel - We've taxi'd and we've rented a convertible car ($40). Both are excellent options. There are so many places that are good in Cozumel, including many restaurants type places that don't charge or charge very little for you to use their beach with the understanding that you will buy lunch and/or drinks. There are also very good all inclusive options.

 

Roatan is our favorite. I would recommend an excursion there just because there are so many beautiful places. We have done Little French Key, West Bay (an all inclusive but I cannot recall the hotel/resort), Fantasy Island (going back there this December), and Club Natalie.

 

Have fun planning!

[mmhomer]

Thanks. Those details are so valuable. We're planning on visiting ancient ruins at three ports and an animal sanctuary at a fourth port, so inadequate water and beach excursions wouldn't worry us.

 

I would be interested in your reviews of the ruins as I know we will do this for one of our days. Also which port are you doing the animal sanctuary in? I know my son would love this.

 

Michelle

[bUU]

I would be interested in your reviews of the ruins as I know we will do this for one of our days. Also which port are you doing the animal sanctuary in? I know my son would love this.

Mahogany Bay